The Ebola virus poses little risk to northern Michigan, according to health experts who spoke at a panel event in Traverse City on Monday night.
But local hospitals and health departments are preparing themselves to handle Ebola patients anyway – in case the unlikely happens.
The panel discussion about Ebola at the Hagerty Center was organized in part to calm people’s fears about the virus.
Karen Segal is co-chair of the International Affairs Forum, which put the event together. She says the national conversation on Ebola in October was out-of-line with reality.
“There was hysteria almost," Segal says. "And we felt that it was very important to bring information that people could use here."
The panel guests discussed the crisis in West Africa – which has killed thousands – and what’s being done to prepare for Ebola in northern Michigan.
But the overall message to the public in the Traverse area was clear: Don’t worry.
“We are at very, very low risk of anybody coming into our community with Ebola," Dr. Karen Speirs says. "But if by some slim chance we do, we are going to be prepared.”
Speirs is an infectious disease specialist and a medical director at Munson Medical Center.
While Ebola is far away from northern Michigan, Munson is still taking the threat seriously.
Speirs says Munson has been preparing for months, practicing what to do if a patient shows up in the emergency room. She says the big challenge so far has been working out the small details.
“Just donning and doffing the protective equipment takes 40 minutes," Speirs says. "And we had to order these. We had to test them out to see if the hood fits and that it’s covering all exposed skin.”
Speirs says Munson also put together an Ebola response team that could spring to action with about 20 different members. And they’re not just hospital staff.
Wendy Trute is the health officer for the Grand Traverse County Health Department. She says the county and Munson have been working together since August.
“We actually meet with [Munson] three times a week right now," Trute says. "We're active in the development of their planning."
Trute says the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is the group that’s actually writing the rules for how health workers deal with Ebola in the country. But the county teaches those policies to Munson workers and first responders.
The role of the county goes beyond just teaching though. They’d also enforce what’s called “active monitoring” if there was a person at risk for Ebola in the area – and they could restrict that person's movement with a court order.
Less than ten people in Michigan right now are being monitored for Ebola, according to Trute, and they are all categorized as low risk. She says none of them live in Grand Traverse County.
Although Ebola is deadly, the virus is far away in West Africa right now. But health officials in northern Michigan are preparing – just in case.